Saul hence maltreated the ekklesia, according the homes, entering, dragging beside men and women,committing them into the guardhouse. [Acts 8:3]
Local expression of ekklesia became an early target for persecution of the risen body of Christ. The Adversary, coming against the ekklesia as if she were the Head Himself. However, boldness of the assault proved enough to effectively strengthen the faith of some, while checking the faith of others. 'There is our protection from above', alongside 'Where is our protection from above?'. The 'Simon' temptation
trembling besides and being awed, he said, "What would You have me to do?" And the Master, to accommodate him, "Be standing and be coming into the city, and it shall be told to you anythingthat is binding upon you to be doing. [Acts 9:3]
What was needful and binding upon Saul would begin to meet him
Saul was coming into Jerusalem, and he tried to be joined with the disciples, and all feared him -- not believing that he is a disciple. Barnabas hence taking-hold of him, led toward the apostles andrelates to them how, along the way he perceives the Master andthat He talks to him; and how he is bold in the name of Jesus. [Acts 9:27-28]
Getting Paul turned around was an administrative
Saul's/Paul's appeal
For I did not keep back from declaring to you all the council of the God. Take heed to yourselves andto the entire flocklet of God, in which of y'all, the Holy Spirit placed on-noters, to be shepherding the ekklesia of God which He procures thru His own blood.
For a flocklet (as at Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna...), God has provided, and He provisions some among them to function as
Gradual turning away from the
Prayer for the life of the saints in Christ around the world,
To be honest... We've settled for a primary format of gathering that continues to obscure the function of ekklesia that Jesus communicates to His disciples.
The Greek word ekklesia (ecclesia in Latin) is a compound of two words: ek, meaning out of' and kaleō, meaning to call. In the first century, ekklesia was not
In ancient Greece, the ekklesia was a group of selected individuals who would assemble
I will build My ekklesia, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [Matthew 16:18–19]
If from this, we don't hear Jesus saying something like, "I will build My administrative function' or, 'I will build My governing arm', we haven't yet understood the word εκκλεσια or the incredible truth revealed in His declaration. In His work of the Spirit, we're entrusted with true, life-giving authority: "the keys of the Kingdom". Seemingly ordinary people, like Simon Peter the fisherman, could release the resources of heaven to advance His rule and remedy on earth. Authority of Christ that sets people free, presenting more of the Kingdom's redeeming power. We might define the ekklesia as the King's Executive Body. Together, we're called to serve as His representatives on this earth and to serve in and alongside His authority. Paul used the word "ambassadors"
Therewith, Jesus also envisions a prevailing ekklesia, against whom even the "gates of Hades" would not prevail. The phrase "gates of Hades" referred principally to the entryway and power of death.
Thus, in Matthew 16, Jesus could be simply stating that even death is now a non-issue. In Paul's only usage of the word Hades, he declared just this point: "O' Death, where is your sting? O' Hades, where is
Jesus unveils the vision of a victorious executive body that would not only trump oppressive and exploitative authority structures, but model a new way of Spirit-led being, thinking and living that would bring liberty to those under the thumb of man's
The prophet Isaiah captured this incredible idea, declaring "the government" to rests on His shoulder and that "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end."
Jesus nested the term ekklesia, an often political term, in the context of the Kingdom of God. He anchored it on the foundation of the Father's heart, and directly contrasted it with religion.
It's this term that speaks to our collective mandate as the redeemed allongside and participant with an executive body through whom He advances His Kingdom. Likewise, when Paul used the term ekklesia, it had nothing to do with some denominational affiliation or a brick-and-mortar building, nor was it the meeting that took place on certain day of the week.
The word ekklesia was used in the universal sense to express God's original intent manifested through Christ's body on earth. Here's an example:
The Ekklesia GeographicalHe put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the ekklesia, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all ... to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the ekklesia to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Ephesians 1:22–23; 3:10–11]
The word ekklesia was used in a geographical sense, referring to same ecompassing all the believers in a town, city or region. Here are two examples—the first to believers in the city of Corinth; the second to believers in the province of Galatia:
The Ekklesia HistoricTo the ekklesia of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord..." [I Corinthians 1:2]
Paul, an apostle -- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the ekklesiaof Galatia..." [Galatians 1:1–2]
Have you ever found yourselves facing a conflict or difference of understanding about the Moses covenant Law? The ekklesia of Acts
The word ekklesia was used in referring to a specific group of believers who shared
Likewise greet the ekklesia that is in their house. [Romans 16:5] Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nymphas and the ekklesia that isin his house. [Colossians 4:15]
Another word that Paul uses for the saint as family, would be the Greek word oikos, which means 'household', referring to a spiritual family.
If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's oikos, which is the ekklesia of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." [I Timothy 3:15]
In all its dimensions, ekklesia implies a function of administration, not a formatted
Together, as One Body, as local believers in a region, city or town, and as a Kingdom community of faith, we're to advance the Kingdom of God throughout our collective sphere of influence, knowing our Christ-centred relationships, expressions of Christ in community and the good works in us to serve as a witness of the "pillar and foundation of the truth". [I Timothy 3:15; Colossians 2:2–3]
Yes, as believers we'll meet often and in various ways. Yet our meetings don't define or restrict us; our meetings are to be an overflow of who we are in Christ: the King of King's executive administration, in His love as also for one another, therewith demonstrating His love
To an issue at hand:
The use of the word church in our English translations reflects one of the more obvious errors in English translation
In the New Testament, the Greek word kuriakon, meaning
When translators then used the contemporary word 'church' in place of ekklesia, it obscured the function of governance Jesus intended, turning it into a format of gathering. Conflating ekklesia with a meeting (or worse, a building) robs us of understanding the fullness of Christ in our Kingdom identity
